Auto part plant Toyotetsu in Norfolk County closes due to COVID-19 outbreak

A major car parts manufacturer in Norfolk County has voluntarily shut down its operation temporarily to deal with a COVID-19 outbreak among employees.

The Haldimand-Norfolk Health Unit (HNHU) confirmed to Global News that several active cases were discovered at the 49,000-square-metre Toyotetsu plant in Simcoe on Monday.

The HNHU would not confirm how many people were infected in the outbreak but did say it was working with the manufacturer “to implement a public health management plan.”

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In a statement, the plant said the closure was “out of an abundance of caution” and it would not reopen until the facility was deemed safe.

“Toyotetsu Canada will continue to work very closely and cooperatively with public health on any and all necessary outbreak measures to open as quickly and safely as possible,” the manufacturer said in a statement.

About 1,200 employees are affected by the closure.

The company did not respond to Global News queries about whether workers would be paid during the leave.

The HNHU reported 286 active COVID-19 cases between the two counties on Wednesday.

There are two other ongoing outbreaks in the region involving combined five cases at a pair of retirement homes – Parkview Meadows in Townsend and Grandview Lodge in Dunnville.

After a spike in the region’s seven-day rolling average of COVID-19 cases last week to 27.43, public health reported a drop on Wednesday to 21.71.